Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH – An Indonesian official said here on Wednesday that they have sent an official diplomatic note to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify that the government of Indonesia has decided to issue its citizens travel documents which have one-year validity and which are as good as passports.



His clarification came in response to a Saudi Gazette report that Indonesian workers who want to stay and transfer their sponsorship were being turned away from the Dallah fingerprinting center because they were carrying travel documents instead of passports.



Tatang Razak, Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s chief for legal aid and the protection of Indonesian overseas workers, said that travel documents can be used by workers for final exit as well as for status rectification.



He explained that travel documents are being issued to speed up the process. He said it is difficult to issue passports in such a short period of time because of procedures and regulations involved.



Razak admitted receiving a number of complaints from Indonesian workers who were turned away from the passports department. He described it as a “misunderstanding.”



When told by Saudi Gazette that passports department comes under the Ministry of Interior and not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian official replied that they have asked through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a meeting with the passports department and other concerned bodies to clarify the matter but have not yet received any reply.



Razak said that they visited the deportation center on Wednesday and met 1,000 Indonesians who were waiting for fingerprinting. Out of 1,000 only four could get their fingerprinting done, he said, adding that it is almost impossible to finish the procedure before the deadline.



He said the Indonesian mission has received more than 74,000 requests from people to benefit from the amnesty. However, they have so far served only 27,568. Only 20 percent of these people want to go back home, Razak said.



Answering a question about the minimum wage for Indonesian housemaids, Razak said that they have set SR1,200 as the minimum wage, but were surprised to know that sponsors were paying much better salaries, ranging between SR1,500 and SR2,000.